Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Boomer Voices program and have been provided with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.

When I was younger I was a worrier. Now this might run counter to most people’s experiences, but I’ve found that the older I get, the less I worry. Maybe it has something to do with the wisdom that accrues with age. Or maybe it comes with the realization that in my life’s narrative arc—divorce and cancer being two notable plot points—anything else is small potatoes. (I’m not thinking of the global concerns that keep me—and you too, I suspect—up at night, but that’s fodder for another post.)

In my own little corner of the world, I have learned to let go, explore, and question old habits. Take my iPhone habit, for example. I’ve been a Mac girl ever since my first Apple desktop back in the 1980s, and I can state, unequivocally, that I’ll never trade in my Mac for a PC. But after three months of testing the DROID RAZR MAXX, I have to admit that I seriously thought about trading in my iPhone for the DROID.

Thought about it…agonized over it…but ultimately decided that although I’ve kinda sorta stopped worrying about the DROID, and can say in all honesty that I do love it, I’m not in love with it. You know what I mean?

In an earlier post on this topic, I said the clincher for me would be cost and security, and I promised to write one more post on the DROID to let you know how this all settled out for me. So let’s talk.

The DROID lists for $199.99 But then so does the iPhone 5S (at least, the one with the least amount of horsepower—16 GB). To lock in the price for both, one must commit to a two-year contract with a wireless provider such as Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint.

As for the new low-cost option Apple released this year, the plasticized iPhone 5C with a list price of $99.99 plus a two-year contract, I say good. Those who have longed for an iPhone but couldn’t afford one are benefiting from Apple’s decision to enter the lower-end market. It’s not for me, but I like that it exists.

As for contracts: I’ll have a word or two about wireless providers in my final wrap-up post for the Verizon Boomer Voices program, so look for that in the coming days.

Back to my comparison exercise. With cost eliminated as a factor, we’re left with security. And this is where I do sleep better at night with the iPhone.

Apple is famous (some might say notorious) for its closed operating system, which limits the seemingly endless opportunities presented by software designers who are free to contribute to Google’s Android system. That’s why the DROID can practically butter your toast for you. But what the iPhone lacks in options, it makes up for in security. According to a recent article in the MITTechnology Review, a study at North Carolina State University revealed that “changes manufacturers made to the stock Android software were responsible for more than 60 percent of the security flaws uncovered in phones from different handset companies.”

In years of using an iPhone—indeed, in years of using a Mac—I’ve never once experienced a security issue. Malware and viruses were things that happened to other people. That means something to me. One could say that with Apple, security derives from simplicity.

In design and functionality, the DROID lacks that elegant simplicity. Because the DROID’s open operating system allows it to do so much more than the iPhone, it arrives with a certain amount of baggage—numerous mysteries to unlock before one can give in to its charms—although the tutorials and videos, accessible from the DROID’s Help icon, are a nice touch. Some of that baggage, however, includes the risk of a security breach. At this stage of my life, I just don’t need the hassle.

So there you have it. I’m staying with my iPhone. But I was thrilled to have had the chance to experience the Android operating system, and for that I have Verizon Wireless to thank. As for those of you who want help buttering your toast, I am happy to recommend the DROID RAZR MAXX HD. It’s really a cool, fun phone.

Julie, your tablet is on its way to you, along with a SIM card and a few other goodies from Verizon Wireless and me. Not sure it will reach you before Christmas, since there’s a lot of traffic out there what with Santa’s reindeer and his massive fleet of UPS trucks. Nevertheless, you and Patricia Craven (winner of the Mophie Juice Pack Power Station) and Shawna Elkins (winner of the Mini Jambox by JawBone), definitely have something wonderful in store.

My heartfelt thanks to all of you who entered the drawing through the blog, the Midlife Second Wife’s Facebook page, and on Twitter. And a special thanks to Verizon Wireless for being such a phenomenal brand partner for the last six months. My time with them is drawing to a close, but I’ll be back here in a week or so with some closing thoughts on the experience.

Happy weekend, everyone!

Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Boomer Voices program and will be provided with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.

Ladies and gentlemen, the plot thickens in the exciting cliffhanger known as “Who Won Those Three Amazing Devices?” in the Verizon Wirelessraffle. The drawing was held Wednesday, Dec. 18, and I’m delighted to announce that the person who can expect delivery of the Mophie Juice Pack Powerstation is …

Patricia Craven of Connecticut

Congratulations, Patricia! Your prize will be shipped soon, along with a few other goodies from Verizon Wireless and me. Thanks very much for entering the drawing!

Now, for those of you playing along at home, that means there’s one prize left—the The Verizon Wireless Ellipsis™ 7. But you’ll have to check back here tomorrow to find out the winner!

My heartfelt thanks to all of you who entered the drawing! And there were a lot of you!

Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Boomer Voices program and will be provided with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.

I held the drawing this afternoon to select the winners of three amazing devices from Verizon Wireless. Because I suspect you all love suspense as much as I do, I’m going to announce the prizewinners individually over the next day or so.

One of my favorite books when I was just learning to read was Joan Walsh Anglund’s beautifully illustrated Christmas is a Time of Giving. I also loved O. Henry’s short story The Gift of the Magi. I’m sure that the sentiments expressed in those pages set me up for a lifetime of loving to give presents. This holiday season, I’m honored to have a little help from Verizon Wireless as I put on my Santa suit.

My time as a member of the Verizon Boomer Voices program is drawing to a close. To celebrate a collegial and successful partnership, and to thank you for following my adventures in technology, I’m giving you a special holiday present: the chance to win one of three phenomenal mobile devices, courtesy of Verizon Wireless.

Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Boomer Voices program and will be provided with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.

Without further ado, here is the first item offered through my raffle: The Verizon Wireless Ellipsis™ 7, a portable full-feature tablet available exclusively by Verizon and its fast 4G LTE network.

The Ellipsis features a 7-inch HD display, ample battery life, and a 1.2GHz quad core processor that lets you easily switch from e-books to games to email. Here are some qualities that make the Ellipsis a perfect gift:

• It allows you to seamlessly balance your personal and professional life. Read emails, download documents and files, manage calendars, and sync your contacts easily so you can stay productive on your next adventure.

• It enables you to share photos, videos, contacts.

• It helps you stay connected with the enriched features of Verizon Messages.

• It provides an array of preloaded apps that bring you custom radio and the latest games and movies on demand, including the Amazon Kindle app and Redbox Instant by Verizon. (Redbox Instant allows you to stream your favorite movies or find the closest Redbox kiosk, where you can pick up new releases on DVD.)

Behind “Door Number Two” we have the MiniJambox™ by Jawbone. (And if you caught that reference be sure to say so in your comment on the blog! See rules below for details.)

The MiniJambox by Jawbone brings beautiful, wireless sound to any experience via Bluetooth or a 3.5 millimeter stereo cable. Completely portable, it’s small enough to fit into a pocket or a clutch purse. In fact, it rather looks like a clutch purse, doesn’t it?

The MiniJambox comes with up to 10 hours of built-in rechargeable battery life. You can customize and personalize it with the Jawbone app. A built-in speakerphone even lets you take calls on the go.

Finally, here for your raffling pleasure is the Mophie Juice Pack Powerstation. With a quick-charging 4,000 mAh external battery, this handy device was designed to provide rapid charging. The Powerstation can switch between 500 mA, 1 amp, or 2.1 amps, giving you high-output power for just about any USB-charged device. Its compact, lightweight design makes it easy to carry, and it works with a range of devices—smartphones, tablets, and portable gaming systems.

Okay now. Are you ready to play? Here are the details on how to enter this amazing raffle:

Leave a relevant comment on this post, tweet about this giveaway (if you follow me on Twitter, retweeting this post will count as an entry!), or leave a comment on the Midlife Second Wife’s Facebook page.

If you tweet or retweet, be sure my Twitter handle is included: @midlife2wife. That way I’ll be sure to see your activity.

The more comments and tweets the better, so by all means feel free to leave more than one. The deadline to enter is 12 o’clock noon (Eastern Time) on Wednesday, December 18, 2013.

I will have Colin, my intern, select product winners from the different platforms on the afternoon of December 18. You have just one week to fill my inbox with comments, tweets, and Facebook notes! One prize per person and three prizes to be given away, along with a few extra swag-bag goodies for each winner. For shipping purposes, I must have a U.S. address to send the items.

I’ll announce the winners here on the blog.

Thanks again for reading, for following, and for entering the raffle. May you be one of the lucky winners!

Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Boomer Voices program and will be provided with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.

I recently hosted a house party as a member of the Verizon Boomer Voices Program. I called it “A Very Verizon Party,” and it featured my own take on Michael Feldman’s Whad’ya Know? quiz show, a program produced by Public Radio International. I’m pleased to report that a very good time was had by all, what with the great food, good fun, and gadgets galore courtesy of the techno-geniuses at Verizon Wireless. I wish all of you could have been there, but there wouldn’t have been enough Chocolate Tea Cake to go around. (Do you like the way I incorporated the black and red Verizon Wireless logo colors into my dessert?)

Voilà! I frosted this with strawberry jam and garnished it accordingly.

As a reader of this blog, this is your consolation prize: the chance to peer through the looking glass of your screen and glimpse a few highlights from the party. You’re never far from my thoughts, dear readers. Come along and enjoy!

The swag bags were set by the chimney with care…

…in hopes that Verizon soon would be there.

Look at the great swag nestled in those black and red bags: A water bottle (complete with a nifty ice holder); a phone holder; a stylus that doubles as a pen; a flash drive stocked with detailed information on the devices demonstrated at the party; a list of nearby Verizon Wireless stores and, to go with it, a $50 coupon redeemable with purchase at one of those stores.

And check out the buffet table! In addition to the chocolate tea cake, I served fresh strawberries, an array of cheeses (and crackers), assorted nuts, and a few decadent sweets from Trader Joe’s.

These are some of the prizes that were up for grabs:To keep things moving along, I held a few old-fashioned drawings. But my guests really loved playing “Whad’ya Know About Verizon Wireless?” They wrote their names on index cards upon their arrival, and I drew two cards for each round of play. I had already downloaded two service bell apps—one for my iPhone and on for the DROID RAZR MAXX HD I’ve been testing for the program. Whoever rang the bell first got to answer the first question (there were five questions in each round).

I wish I had pictures of the contestants playing the game, but here are some of the sample questions. As with Feldman’s program, the questions were painstakingly researched, but the answers were not. (How would you do with these questions?)

I. A FITBIT is:

a) a device that fits into a horse’s bridle
b) a type of healthy, delicious candy that has zero calories
c) a item of apparel that will always fit you no matter how much weight you gain
d) a device that tracks your calories, activity, and sleep and syncs with your mobile device or laptop

II. TRUE OR FALSE:

Accessories and devices available through Verizon Wireless will only work with the Android Operating System

III. The slogan or tagline in the old Verizon commercials is:

a) Rethink Possible
b) The Power of a Network
c) Can You Hear Me Now?
d) Just Do It.

IV. TRUE OR FALSE: The iconic spokesperson for Verizon Wireless, featured in the “Can you hear me now?” commercials, had blond hair and wore a long-sleeved blue shirt.

V. The Verizon Wireless store closest to where we’re having this party is located:

a) at Westgate Mall
b) at Crocker Park
c) at Tower City
d) at Legacy Village

Here are some pictures of my guests.

Oh, Verizon? If you need a mascot may I suggest our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Sandy?

Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Boomer Voices program and will be provided with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.

Earlier this month, Pam Flores of ComBlu—a social business and influencer marketing firm—interviewed me for her company’s blog, Lumenatti. One of ComBlu’s clients is Verizon; you might recall my earlier post (“Hey Boomers—Verizon Will Hear You Now”) in which I discuss my participation in the Verizon Boomer Voices program.

I want to share Pam’s article with you because you are either a Boomer (in or out of midlife), or you love someone who is. And here’s why you should care:

According to an article in Forbes.com (cited in my interview), five misconceptions come to mind when advertisers think about the Boomer demographic:

1. Boomers aren’t tech-savvy.

2. Older people aren’t cool.

3. Older adults don’t spend.

4. The “golden years” are a time of relaxation.

5. The older generation is always loyal to a brand.

Do you agree with any of this? After you’ve had a chance to read the interview, I’d love to hear your thoughts! You can share your comments below, or directly on the ComBlu site.

The first to appear on the touch-screen was Motorola’s red, Batman-like logo, followed by the voice of the DROID—robotic and synthesized—saying (by way of introduction, I guess): “Droid.” Then, immediately after, a lightening-laced, fractured vision that could have been a split-second scene from Blade Runner. After all that, finally, a flickering-red-power-star-encased-in-a-diamond image came into view, signaling that your smart phone is ready to receive you now.

I’ve used an iPhone for years. Turning it on has never been this much fun. Score one for the DROID.

But is fun enough? I’ve been paying close attention to the similarities, differences, pros, and cons ever since returning from Chicago at the end of June, where Verizon Wireless hosted my program colleagues and me to a day-and-a-half of training on this device and related products. Here are a few of my loves and—since hate is too strong a word—dis-loves when it comes to the DROID RAZR MAXX HD:

Voice-Recognition SoftwareThis is, by far, my favorite feature of the DROID RAZR MAXX HD. After unlocking the phone, all I have to do is swoop my finger from the bottom of the screen to the top and Google appears, ready to search at my command. I click the microphone and ask it do to my bidding. For example, I asked Gigi (for that’s what I’ve named this miraculous feature, deciding it made a fine derivative of Google): “Call the Rocky River Public Library.”

“Calling now,” she replied. And just like that, I was connected.

Oh yes, I know all about Siri. I have an iPhone 5, after all. But it’s been my experience that Siri pops up when I least expect her, and when I do need her she’s difficult to find. Google’s voice-recognition software on the DROID RAZR MAXX HD is easier to use. Her tone is slightly more pleasant and human-sounding than Siri’s, too. You can almost hear the smile in her voice.

Again, shades of Blade Runner.

I’ve also had more success with the DROID’s voice-activation in getting to websites than I have with my iPhone.

Google NowWhile we’re on the subject of Google, let me just say that I love the “smart cards” that appear beneath the search field when I do that upward swoop thingie. Yes, you do have to allow Google certain permissions for these actions to work, but I’m over that. I like being able to see what’s on my calendar for the day, what the weather is like, and some of my most recent Google searches. If the screen gets too crowded I can simply swipe them away.

For those unfamiliar with smart phones and their operating systems, I should take this opportunity to point out that Google owns Android, which is a Linux-based operating system. Unlike Apple’s operating system, Android is open-source, which means that other developers can create software for it, yielding myriad choices in apps. Apple is an organic entity unto itself—it’s apples to apples all the way. I’m not saying that its closed-system philosophy is a negative—quite the opposite, actually. I’ve been a loyal Mac user ever since purchasing my first desktop back in the late 1980s. But it has been fun to experiment with a different operating system. (Fun. There’s that word again.) We’ll come back to that.

High-Definition Screen, Color, and Instant Photo UploadsThe high-definition screen of the DROID RAZR MAXX HD is a thing of beauty. If you’re reading this review on a DROID RAZR MAXX HD, ask Gigi—er, I mean Google—to pull up a website showing the color spectrum. What do you think?

I actually wonder, however, if the colors I’m seeing are true-to-life. Here’s why. Schopenhauer and color theory notwithstanding, when I use the DROID camera, the image I’m about to shoot doesn’t appear as real—as true-to-life—compared to the camera of my iPhone; the colors seem off. That’s when I look through the viewer, but I’ve noticed it on some of the resulting photos as well. Here’s a picture I took of my iPhone with the DROID. Contrast this with the photo I took of the DROID with the iPhone above. I set each shot the same way, with the same background. I auto-adjusted the color, as I always do, in Photoshop before saving the final image. The backdrop of the iPhone shown below is closer to real-life, and this shot was taken with the DROID. That said, the colors of the iPhone itself are way off. This could be because I’m taking a picture of something with a lit background—even though I cut the brightness of the iPhone’s screen back.

The DROID’s screen in the picture above, taken with my iPhone, is closer to what my eye sees. I hope I haven’t confused you too much. (Can we get a philosopher to weigh in on this?!)

A picture of my iPhone 5, taken with the camera of the DROID RAZR MAXX HD

I have to wonder if I’m willing to sacrifice visual veracity for ease and speed in uploading. When we were in Chicago, one of the tech trainers set up my DROID so it would automatically upload the photos taken with it to my Google+ account. Talk about magic! This feature saves me the trouble of having to email my iPhone photo to myself, or of having to attach the iPhone to my laptop in order to download images to iPhoto, which I then have to save again to a designated file on my laptop. Once the DROID picture appears on my Google+ page, all I have to do is download it. That’s all. I absolutely love the time this saves me.

I haven’t even begun to tell you other important things, such as the size and shape of the DROID versus the iPhone, the network speed, the battery life, and overall ease of use. I’ll be back again to share more of my thoughts on the DROID RAZR MAXX HD. For now, I’d like to ask your opinion on this:

I’ve often thought there are are two kinds of people in the world, and that they can be summed up in three categories:

Those who prefer Coke over Pepsi

Those who like coffee more than tea

Those who are passionately pro-Mac versus those who are PC

What do you think? And if you are a devoted Apple fan, would you ever change sides? Even for one product? Let me know in the comments below!